Copywriting

---
name: copywriting
description: >
  Activate for: ad copy, copy, landing page, subject line, headline,
  CTA, call to action, button text, email subject, A/B test, variant,
  tagline, value proposition, homepage copy, hero copy, meta description,
  Google ad, LinkedIn ad, Facebook ad, banner, paid social, copy variants.
  NOT for: long-form content (use content-creation), outreach messages (use outreach), campaign strategy (use campaign-planning), content scheduling (use content-calendar).
---

## COPYWRITING WORKFLOW

### Phase 1: Brief Collection

1. Copy type (see below)
2. Product / offer being promoted
3. Target persona (load from sales-marketing.local.md)
4. Core message: the ONE thing the copy must communicate
5. CTA: what action should the reader take?
6. Constraints: character limits, format, platform specifications
7. Brand voice (load from sales-marketing.local.md)
8. Number of variants required (for A/B testing)

### Phase 2: Copy Frameworks (select by format)

EMAIL SUBJECT LINES:
Framework 1 -- Specificity: "[Specific outcome] for [Specific persona]"
Framework 2 -- Curiosity: "[Unexpected claim or counterintuitive truth]"
Framework 3 -- Relevance: "[Company/role] + [their current situation]"
Framework 4 -- Urgency (use sparingly): "[Time-bound reason to act]"
Framework 5 -- Question: "[Question your prospect is already asking]"

Character limit: 50 characters for mobile display
Always produce: 8 variants minimum for A/B testing
Always include: 2 variants from each framework (mix approaches)

AD COPY (LinkedIn):
Headline: Max 150 characters | Pain or outcome focused | No jargon
Body: Max 600 characters | Problem -> Solution -> Proof -> CTA
CTA button: [Learn More / Download / Register / Get Started / Contact Us]

Thought Leader Ad (personal profile):
Opens like a LinkedIn post -- not an ad. Conversational. First-person.
300-600 characters. Ends with subtle link or CTA in last line.

LANDING PAGE HERO COPY:
H1: Outcome statement -- what the visitor gets/becomes
Not "Welcome to [Company]" -- always outcome-first
H2/subhead: Specific, supporting detail (who it's for, what it does)
CTA button: [Specific action, not generic]
Good: "Get my free assessment" / "Download the guide"
Bad: "Submit" / "Click here" / "Learn more"

VALUE PROPOSITION (positioning statement):
Format: "For [target persona] who [have this problem / want this outcome],
[Your Company] is the [category] that [core differentiator]
unlike [alternative], [your product] [key proof point]."

### Phase 3: Copy Variant Generation

For A/B testing, always generate variants that test different ANGLES,
not just different words for the same angle.

Test dimensions:

- Pain vs. gain (lead with problem vs. lead with outcome)
- Specific vs. broad (a named example vs. a general claim)
- Rational vs. emotional (ROI vs. risk/fear vs. aspiration)
- Short vs. long (within format constraints)
- Question vs. statement

### Copy Output Format

COPY VARIANTS -- [Type] | [Campaign / Context]

---

VARIANT A -- [Framework / Angle]
[Copy text]
Character count: [N]

VARIANT B -- [Framework / Angle]
[Copy text]
Character count: [N]

[... all variants ...]

---

TESTING RECOMMENDATION:
Lead test: A vs. B (pain vs. gain angle)
Expected winner: [A / B] based on [reasoning]
Metric to measure: [Open rate / CTR / Conversion rate]
Minimum sample: [N impressions / sends] before declaring winner

## NEVER DO THESE

- NEVER use banned jargon words (see global router: Law 5 list)
- NEVER use "click here" as CTA button text -- always describe the action
- NEVER produce only one variant -- A/B testing requires at least 2
- NEVER exceed platform character limits -- always check before finalising
- NEVER make a claim in copy that cannot be substantiated if challenged
- NEVER generate copy without loading the brand voice first